DMK’s Attack on Hindu Dharma Is Against The Foundations of India

 

During the infamous Sanatanam Abolition Conclave organized by a leftist group at Chennai on Sept 2, Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin compared Sanatana Dharma with ‘dengue’ ‘malaria’, ‘mosquitos’ and ‘corona’ and asserted that it cannot just be opposed, but should be eradicated. Five days later, senior DMK leader Andimuthu Raja stated that Udhayanidhi’s comparisons were ‘mild’ and noted that it should be compared to diseases that carry social stigma like HIV and leprosy.

Soon a senior DMK minister Ponmudy revealed that in spite of the differences among parties, INDIA alliance has been formed to fight against the principles of Sanatana Dharma unitedly, for which power at the central Govt. is important. On Sept 20, Udhayanidhi has clarified that the very objective of starting their movement was to eradicate Sanatana Dharma.

Such diatribes against Hindu Dharma are not new to Tamil Nadu. But this time it is systematic, appears well-planned and more direct with the involvement of the state. Besides the son of the Chief Minister and the heir-apparent himself is leading the attack from the front. After coming to power in 2021, DMK leaders are used to denigrate the Hindu Dharma, sometimes in the meetings organized by the other religious groups.  

Last year Raja made an atrocious statement saying that all the Shudras are the children of prostitutes and they remain so till they remain in Hinduism. For the different problems in the society, be it education, women or social justice, the Dravidian groups jump to connect them to the Sanatana Dharma and conclude that the reasons for all the ills are due to it.

E.V.Ramasamy Naciker (EVR) began the open and direct attacks on the Hindu faith in Tamil Nadu with the formation of Dravidar Kazhagam ( DK) in 1944. During his times, Hindu idols were broken; they were taken in procession with chappals as garlands and holy scriptures burnt. Also, appeal was made to the British Govt. to not to give independence to India; Wanted a separate Dravidian state; Aug 15 was observed as day of mourning and the Indian Constitution was burnt.

EVR called Tamil a barbaric language; insulted the ancient literary master-pieces such as Thirukkural and Silappathikaram. His hatred for Brahmins is well-known that that in the earlier periods they were abused and physically attacked by his followers and driven out of their localities in different places.

DMK is an offshoot of DK, formed in 1959 due to differences with EVR. Since then their leaders also used to attack Hindu Gods, faith, belief systems and practices regularly. Later they gave up their demand for a separate Dravidian land and began to say that there is One God. But apart from these due to political reasons, even now they claim that they are the true followers of EVR and hence his ideology remains in their genes. 

After coming to power in 1967, DMK began to interfere in the Hindu practices and beliefs. Tamil Nadu has the highest number of temples, with many of them being ancient and remaining unique. Most of the temples went under the control of the Hindu- hating DMK atheists. Hence there is complete mismanagement of temples and their properties over the years, often ignoring the directions of the Courts. As a result, it was reported that around 47000 acres of temple lands were found missing during the past few decades.

Over the years, they have removed the lessons relating to the ancient scriptures from school text-books as they revolve around Sanatana Dharma. Instead students are compelled to read about EVR and the DMK leaders.  Besides DMK regularly attempts to portray Tamil Nadu as different from the rest of India, particularly the north, claiming that Tamil language and culture do not have much connections with others. Even though the Aryan- Dravidian theory had been proven wrong many years back, one can still hear voices from the DMK asserting that the north- Indians belong to the Aryan race.

DMK went to the extent of even changing the traditional Tamil New Year officially. In 2008, the Karunanidhi Govt. passed the Tamil Nadu New Year (Declaration) Bill 2008 to change the date of the Tamil new year, from the first day of the month of Chithirai (which falls around mid- April) to the first day of the month of Thai (falling around mid-January 14). Later it was the AIADMK Govt. led Jayalalitha that overturned it in 2011. Hence the DMK is not just anti-Hindu, it is actually against the Tamil culture as the entire nation is part of one Bharathiya civilization.

Even in his later years, the late Chief Minister Karunanidhi used to denigrate the Hindu faith frequently. He once remarked that Hindu means thief. Later when there were criticisms, he gave a different explanation. There was an   instance when he criticized a DMK leader with kumkum on his forehead and during some other time he asked whether Lord Ram was an engineer when there were discussions on Ram Setu. 

But over the years, Karunanidhi was careful to cultivate the Christian and Muslim communities and maintained very close relationships with their leaders. As a result, the DMK gets the highest share of the minority votes even today. Since 2021 Stalin has been following his father’s footsteps, going extra miles to appease them. Karunanidhi always claimed himself a rationalist; now Stalin also says the same. Like his father, Stalin attends the major religious functions of Christians and Muslims regularly.

Even after getting elected as the CM, Stalin refuses to offer greetings on Ganesh Chaturththi, the major Hindu festival.  Besides he allows his alliance partners and anti-Hindu voices to speak ill of the Hindu faith, without any fear of law. His allies such as VCK are regularly attacking the Hindu faith without any hesitation, even while praising other religions openly. Earlier, Udhayanidhi Stalin said he was a proud Christian.

Usually the missionary groups increase their activities during the DMK regimes. Besides, the approach of DMK towards the religious extremists always remain soft. During October last year, there was a car cylinder blast in Coimbatore. When questions were raised about it after evidences began to emerge, DMK maintained that it was just a car cylinder blast. But after NIA took over the case, it was revealed that the person who was driving the vehicle was an activist connected to a terrorist group with plans to kill Hindus and destroy temples. 

Thus while the other religious groups are being pampered, the Hindu faith and practices are being attacked severely from all sides. This is the ‘Dravidian model of secularism’. This cannot be allowed to continue, as it would lead to the destruction of the great Tamil culture. Besides, it poses a threat to the unity and integrity of our mother land.

Tamil is acknowledged as the most ancient language and Tamil culture is built on the age-old civilizational values based on Sanatana Dharma. Since ancient periods, Tamil region in the South and other parts of Bharat have had continuous and deep rooted relationships. The Bakthi movement that created a transformation in the Hindu society originated in the Tamil region around the seventh century CE and spread to the northern and eastern parts across Bharath over the subsequent centuries.   

 Due to the strong foundations Tamil Nadu remains the stronghold of Sanatana Dharma even today. But the Dravidian groups led by DMK are determined to attack it vigorously using the state power. They should not be allowed to take forward their agenda and for this the entire nation should stand as one to defeat their schemes.

The partners of INDIA group should throw DMK out of their alliance and isolate it politically, for its approach is against the very foundations of our nation. In this connection, the opposition parties should take note of what the Congress leader   Pramod Krishnam said recently: "Those who are against Sanatan are also against India because India cannot be imagined without Sanatan." “… I want to appeal to all the senior leaders of the INDIA alliance that political leaders and political parties who speak against Sanatan Dharma should be thrown out of the alliance".

A party such as DMK should have no future in the holy land of Tamil Nadu nurtured by the Sanatana Dharma since time immemorial.

(The writer is Secretary & Trustee, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, New Delhi)

(spmrf.org. Oct 2,2023)